Speeches by Wrigley.

“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. When I met Network Rail in the autumn, it said that the design team for the fifth and final phase of the work would be reassigned if the funding was not forthcoming soon. That would put the project back, and significant extra funds would be required to get it back up to speed. A …”

“My hon. Friend makes a good point. Accessible, step-free stations are vitally important across Devon.”

“I thank the Backbench Business Committee for giving me the opportunity to have this debate, and I thank colleagues from across the House for participating. We have heard some fairly clear messages, and I thank the Minister for responding to some of them. There is certainly some hope in some of the responses that have b…”

“I was listening very carefully, and I think the Minister just said that not all trains will necessarily stop at Old Oak Common. Could she confirm that, please?”

“Following the failures of the last Government on HS2, Old Oak Common might have made sense as a terminus to HS2 from the north. It is no longer that and now does not make any sense at all. A 14-platform station that duplicates connections from Paddington and Euston is neither wanted nor needed. We know that the trains …”

“We have tabled this amendment to explore the possibility of including manufacturing businesses. Manufacturing is important, and we know that it is struggling. By adding manufacturing businesses, we might be able to help them in the same way as we intend to help hospitality, retail and leisure. Manufacturing is a vital …”

“I rise to speak to new clause 1. I thank the Minister for his words. It is, as we are discovering, an incredibly complex and arcane way of creating taxes that will have an impact on many high street businesses. While the Treasury analysis will tell us how the multipliers have hit, and the numbers that are done from a t…”

“I am a little reassured by the Government’s intentions to support the manufacturing industry and look forward to their efforts to do so. I am certainly reassured by the support for the high street, which is very important to all. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Question pro…”

“I beg to move amendment 1, in clause 3, page 3, line 29, after “hospitality” insert “, manufacturing”. This amendment would add manufacturing businesses to the types of business that could qualify for use of the lower multiplier.”

“This has been my first Bill Committee experience, and it has been interesting and delightfully short. I am delighted to see it executed so effectively and efficiently. I thank the Minister for all his thoughtful and thorough explanations of the different bits and pieces, and I really hope that the legislation will prov…”

“Q Thank you for coming today. The Co-op is a vital element of many of the communities in my area in south Devon. It is a mainstay of many communities. In the Bill I am interested in the jump between the small business rates and the large business rates based on a rateable value of £51,000. Is that an issue for you in t…”

“Q Reforming business rates is very welcome. We always like that—they are not a particularly good tax—but I fear the measure is making them more complicated. Forgive me if it is a naive question, but I do not see anywhere in the Bill, other than it starting in April 2026, any commitment to forward notice of changes or t…”

“Q Apologies for being late; I got caught in traffic behind a tractor. I thank the panel for their evidence. I am a coastal Devon MP, and within my constituency are Dawlish and Teignmouth. We have some major holiday sites in that area that I am fairly sure will fall into the upper brackets. What is your feeling on the c…”

“All through the south-west, we are facing difficulty with our train services. One of the big things that is coming up is six years of potential delay due to current plans for the area called Old Oak Common. Old Oak Common was the terminus for HS2 for the north coming into London, which will now be going by tunnel throu…”

“Yes.”

“I think that is likely, but this is causing great consternation with all our residents. We are trying to demonstrate that we are considering their needs, and balancing them with the needs of terminating HS2 is important for fairness.”

“I didn’t know that, and we have something tomorrow as well.”

“Speaking as—until recently—the leader of a district council and a long-term member of our planning committee, I do not recognise the issues that the Minister is citing. A lot of the things he says relate to the absence of a local plan. I fully agree with that. My council has just put in place a new local plan, which is…”

“Q10. The major GP practice groups in my constituency have written to me, detailing their precarious finances. They are considering their options as they plan for the year ahead, including redundancies, handing back their contracts or bankruptcy, and they have stopped recruiting GPs, resulting in fewer patient appointme…”

“Fantastic. I come from a local council background, where we have literally, in the past three months, had to change the idea of putting trees in the pedestrianised area of the street because they suddenly found pipes underneath. How do you deal with the accuracy of the data, because the data as presented is not reality…”